Alphay International Review: Chinese MLM enters US

Having banned MLM in China back in 1998 because the government believed ‘it was often used as a cover for evil cults, secret societies and lawless and superstitious activities‘, China legalised the industry only six years ago now – back in 2006.

Despite the time that has passed, the industry in China is still heavily regulated and only a handful of companies are represented, with a mixture of US-based companies and Chinese upstarts.

Today we’re going to look at one of the Chinese MLM companies that have made the list and have their roots in manufacturing Chinese traditional medicine components all the way back since 2002.

Read on for a full review of the Alphay International business opportunity.

The Company

Alphay International was founded in October 2002 by Chairman Hui Chen (photo right). Alphay International are based in China under the official name of ‘Jiangsu Anhui Biological Technology Co., Ltd.’ and claims to be one of

(Furthermore) while the majority must partner with the Chinese government, Alphay has a privately owned license.

I’m not quite sure what Jiangsu Anhui Biological Technology did prior to getting their license in China back in 2008 (export mushrooms?), but since then the company has began expanding their MLM division globally under the name Alphay International.

Alphay International’s Product Line

Nutritional Supplements

Alphay International claim their nutrient supplements

combine the best of the best mushroom and herbal formulations from the oldest medical system in the world.

Our master herbologists and mycologists have selected the highest quality herbs that are clinically recognized as the most beneficial plant ingredients to address the most demanding needs of modern society: stress, aging, fatigue and compromised immune systems.

Here are the supplements Alphay International retail, along with their retail price:

general gender based nutrient supplements – $86

heart health supplement – $86

digestive supplement – $86

mind supplement – $86

lung supplement – $86

kidney supplement – $98

liver supplement – $86

Herbal Tea

Alphay International’s herbal tea offering is called ‘Lingzhi Royal Blend Herbal Tea’. The company states their tea

contains delicious black tea from the inlands of China with all the sensible stimulation that contains.

Lingzhi Royal Blend Herbal Tea comes in a box of 30 tea bags and retails for $48.

Shoe Soles

Alphay International retail both mens and womens shoe soles under the brand of ‘GemSoles’. GemSoles

incorporate refined, ultra-modern technologies such as far-infrared and negative ion emitting tourmaline gemstones with the rejuvenating power of magnets that are based in solid physical science, with many of its products for use with discomfort in bones, joints and muscle tissue.

Both the mens and womens varieties retail for $83.

Included in this range is also a sleep mask Alphay International describe as

a tool to help you get to Level 5 — Deep REM Sleep, where all the rejuvenation takes place.

Here are the 8 membership ranks along with their qualification requirements:

Dream Builder – 50 PSV and GSV and at least one member recruited

Dream Builder II – 80 PSV, 500 GSV (no more than 50% can come from any one unilevel leg) and at least 3 new members recruited

Director – 120 PSV, 2,000 GSV (no more than 50% can come from any one unilevel leg) and at least 4 new members recruited

President – 160 PSV, 7,000 GSV (no more than 50% can come from any one unilevel leg) and at least 5 new members recruited

Ambassador – 200 PSV, 22,000 GSV (no more than 40% can come from any one unilevel leg) and at least 6 new members recruited

Key Master – 240 PSV, 70,000 GSV (no more than 40% can come from any one unilevel leg) and at least 7 new members recruited

Regional Key Master – 280 PSV, 225,000 GSV (no more than 40% can come from any one unilevel leg) and at least 8 new members recruited

Global Key Master – 320 PSV, 500,000 GSV (no more than 40% can come from any one unilevel leg) and at least 9 new members recruited

The Alphay International Compensation Plan

The Alphay International compensation plan revolves around a unilevel commission structure as well as a Fast Start Bonus, retail commissions (online and offline), and a matching bonus.

Here’s a rundown of the various components of the Alphay International compensation plan.

Retail Sales

The sale of Alphay International’s products will earn members a retail commission. The percentage of this commission is dependent on whether the retail sale was made in person (direct) or via a member’s provided replicated Alphay International online store.

Direct sale retail commissions are paid out of the difference between the purchased (wholesale price) of Alphay International and the retail price the item was sold at (set by the member).

For online sales, goods are sold at the suggested retail price (fixed by Alphay International) and the retail commission paid out is the difference between the wholesale cost and the retail price (which is up to 25% of the retail cost, depending on the product bought).

Unilevel Commissions

At the heart of the Alphay International compensation plan are commissions that revolve around a unilevel compensation structure.

Using the example above, what this means is that every member you bring into the organisation, they are placed directly underneath you in a new leg. These members form your first level with any members they sponsor forming your second level and so on and so forth.

Traditionally a unilevel compensation structure is unlimited levels wide but Alphay International cap the width of their unilevel structure to 15 first level members (meaning it’s 15 members wide on the first level).

Note that in the above example only three legs are shown branching off at each level but this in effect is fifteen.

Members are free to place new members on your first level or you have the option of placing them on different levels of your existing unilevel organisation.

In this sense it’s not a true unilevel but more of a hybrid between a unilevel and a matrix.

Capped at fifteen levels wide, Alphay also cap the unilevel payout structure 10 levels deep and depending on what membership rank you have, pay out a monthly residual commission based on the sales volume of those in your unilevel organisation.

Dream Builder – 5% on levels 1 and 2

Dream Builder II – 5% on levels 1 to 4

Director – 5% on levels 1 to 4 and 4% on level 5

President – 5% on levels 1 to 4 and 4% on levels 5 and 6

Ambassador – 5% on levels 1 to 4 and 4% on levels 5 to 7

Key Master – 5% on levels 1 to 4 and 4% on levels 5 to 8

Regional Key Master – 5% on levels 1 to 4 and 4% on levels 5 to 9

Global Key Master – 5% on levels 1 to 4 and 4% on levels 5 to 10

Note that upon achieving Global Key Master, Alphay members get a ‘re-entry opportunity’ which enables them to expand their existing unilevel organisation another fifteen levels wide or they can place their new business center elsewhere in the unilevel.

Commissions in this re-entry business centre are bound to the same commission payout structure as above.

Fast Start Bonus

The Fast Start Bonus is paid out on the sales made by Alpay International members you’ve directly recruited into the company and members they themselves have recruited.

Additionally, each month 10% of the Fast Start Bonus is set aside and put into what is called the Chairman’s Bonus Pool. Other than stating that the top Fast Start volume producers in each market will share in this pool however, Alphay International fail to mention any specific eligibility criteria or the payout structure of this bonus.

Matching Bonus

So long as an Alphay Internatonal member qualifies with 50 PSV per month, they are entitled to a payout from the Matching Bonus.

Alphay International’s matching bonus is based on a member’s unilevel commissions pays out 20% on direct recruits and 10% on their direct recruits (your level 1 and 2).

Joining Alphay International

For those looking to join Alphay International, there are eight membership options available.

From here the next priced membership is the ‘Key Energy Pack (Queen)’ which comes in at $1849 and includes various Alphay International products.

Starting at $1849 above, there are seven membership options ranging up to $2467 for the ‘Alphay Key Pack (Cal King)’.

Progressively as the membership price increases, so do the products included in the membership packs.

Conclusion

Product wise I’m going to be honest and admit that I’ve got no idea about most of Alphay International’s product range. I suppose broadly speaking it’s fair to group them all under the umbrella of ‘health and wellbeing’, but at first glance it does appear to be a bit of a mish-mash.

That said, as to the effectiveness of the products – personally I wouldn’t be shelling out close to $100 on a monthly supplement, shoe sole or sleep mask – but that’s just me. Obviously someone is buying this stuff or Alphay International would have gone bankrupt a long time ago.

As for the bedding set… again, there must be some sort of demand for this kind of stuff as the company has been around for a while now. How big that demand is and how established it is though I’ve got no idea.

As far as marketing Alphay International goes this is what you’d want to establish and investigate before jumping in with the business.

The compensation plan on the surface appears to be solidly rooted in sales as it should be but deeper analysis does reveal some worrying points.

The first thing that stuck out to me is the huge difference between personal sales volume and group sales volume. Even at the highest membership level of Global Key Master, you’re looking at 320 PV vs. a whopping 500,000 GSV.

Now obviously at this level you’d want to be pushing a lot more than just $320 a month in retail sales but even if we up that by 1000% to $3200, and assume that everyone on your team is pushing this amount of product a month – that’s still 156 members directly under you.

Of course the recruiting and sales efforts of your team will put a dent in this but the Alphay International compensation plan still feels unevenly weighted on personal sales vs. team sales.

With such a low personal sales quota, there’s no much incentive to drive more sales and instead it might be tempting to push your team to make up this volume.

Trouble is they all have a ridiculously low personal sales quota too… so company wide you might be looking at a bunch of distributors with no real reason to drive their monthly sales.

I’d imagine by pushing up the monthly personal sales volume per membership rank this could be fixed but as it stands… it’s a bit problematic.

Especially when you consider that most of Alphay’s products are under $100. I mean it’s not like you’re going to have people purchasing $1000+ bedsheets on monthly autoship now is it.

The second concern is the recruitment requirements built into the compensation plan. Starting with the second membership rank, already you’re required to have no less than 3 members under you.

This in itself wouldn’t be so bad if the unilevel commissions weren’t so severely restricted to what membership level you are. Later on we’re only talking one level but in the early days you’re looking at 4 new members and $2000 in monthly group sales volume just to get paid out on levels 1-5 of your unilevel.

Not unachievable but considering the product range, in my mind a little steep.

That said, if you can find a market for this stuff then the balance of sales and recruitment is clear enough in the compensation plan. Let’s face it, you’re not hitting those group sales volume’s yourself so regardless of how unnecessarily low the monthly personal quotas are, the succesful earners in this company are going to have to drive those retail sales and get their teams to do it as well.

A few slight changes to the compensation plan could fix these problems but until then, make the most of what you’ve got.

That’s if you can afford the joining cost! And don’t even think about getting in on the $35 option… nobody is buying any of this Chinese medicine type stuff of you if you yourself aren’t using the products!

Alphay’s products are not available in any Chinese apothecary in almost any Chinatown in the world. Rather, the whole food products utilize the cap and 2 cm of the stem, where most products use the stem only.

The real nutrition is in what Alphay uses. The other products are unique to Alphay, kosher certified, pure and lead-free according to the State of California guidelines.

Went to research Alphay’s compensation plan changes today and noticed they don’t provide the compensation plan on their website.

Not good enough guys.

There’s a wishy washy review on the website but no further information. Apart from a press release mentioning it, for whatever reason Alphay aren’t making the 2013 compensation plan changes publicly available.

If an Alphay International affiliate wants to send it my way I can review it, otherwise I haven’t been able to track it down elsewhere online.

Note to prospective Alphay International affiliates, an MLM company hiding their compensation plan from you is an instant red flag.

I would like to know why we should trust any products we ingest, coming out of China? Is there no concern with pollution or ethics surrounding how workers are being paid at the very least?

I like the idea for those who drink coffee to be able to drink something that has alkalizing properties, but what about the other ingredients used to substitute for sugar and cream? What are your thoughts on these.

I always look at product first, then the Company and their leaders, then the Compensation Plan and the ease with which training is provided to implement the plan. Is this information easily accessible?

I can back up the assertion that the company has been around since 1959. The direct sales arm of Alphay was formed in 2002. That only means the direct sales portion is 12 years old, but the company itself has been around for 55 years.

If you read “The 5 Elements of Success” by Chairman Hui Chen, it outlines the entire history of the business. I think you would find it interesting.

To address the rather tasteless comment directed toward Margie, it’s important that anyone who considers an MLM company know who is at the very top. I would never consider this company if I didn’t know who was running it.

3 of my close business associates –people I trust dearly– have visited the Chinese headquarters for days at a time. I had lunch with the CEO, Barbara Liang last month. They are transparent and true humanitarians.

Never would I consider this opportunity if I didn’t know the character and philosophy of the Chairman and CEO.

5elementsofsuccess.com/ <— this is the digital copy of the book written by the Chairman, Hui Chen. You can get it for free. All the information you need is there, including how long the mushroom cultivation has been in practice.

The company was formerly called "Jiangsu Anhui Biological Technology Company". "Alphay International" became the new name once the company went international (hence the name). But changing a name doesn't erase the 40+ years of history that came before the name change.

I went to research the supposedly new plan today and note that Alphay, for whatever reason, no longer provide their compensation plan to the general public.

There’s a summary page which mentions retail profits, a direct first order bonus, placement team bonus, unilevel bonus, leadership bonus and generational bonus… which looks similar if not identical to what I reviewed here (I typically change unique terminology used by MLM companies to industry standard terminology).

I’ll leave the status of Alphay’s compensation plan in question, pending the company deciding to share their compensation plan with the public (which I count as a major red flag).

Oz, any more information surfaced on Alphay’s compensation plan or the company in general? This organization is infiltrating my community and friends and I have concerns.

Someone invested (who does not have a lot of money and can not afford it) in this and tried to back out of it within 4 hours of signing on and they would not let them. We wrote letters and tried to get the refund and their name out of the system and there is a big black hole of support for this. Crickets.

They took social security numbers and we can not get a hold of anyone at Alphay. They indicates that they must be in the system for at least a year now – makes no sense. A few weeks have passed already….still no contact from Alphay or anyone.

I would like to know who has tried the products and what are the side effects?

Can a Sore throat be a side effect ? Can you develop bumps on tonsils or roof? Please be honest.

If the date on pill says best by July 2014 and it is August 2014 but thats the product you received what then>?

The comments here seem Bias and for the side of Alphay – I would like neutral answers- Should one stop taking it? How has it been tested?

The powder smells like bad breath – I tried a different mushroom from a popular place and it worked great for me- I did not get sick – but I feel doubtful of the Alphay package I received – It seemed cheap and low quality.

As an Alohay distributor I can assure you that all Alphay products have been privately tested before they were even introduced in America… No heavy metals, pristine quality, organic and the most potent extracts available.

The compensation plan is second to none in MLM and the payout is somewhere close to 60% when most other MLM opportunities payout structure is around 40%. They offer 12 different ways to make money.

I have seen nothing but excellent and profound effects in everyone I have seen use the products, including myself. I can also tell you that I have several customers who have already joined me in the business or are about to.

As far as getting into the business… 35 dollars… 250, 500 or 1000 dollars gets you in at different levels and you gte that much in products as well… and they have promotions all the time to earn your money back quickly and you don’t need to buy 200 dollars worth of products every month.

So far I am very happy with Alphay and I have worked other MLM’s… The tea is designed to protect us from radiation and the capsule formulas are showing to be very effective. 🙂

You can go to the exact Alphay’s production factory at Nan Tong, in Hang Zhou (China) province to visit and ensure this company is not a scam, and also to learn more about their production process with strict criteria to meet.

I will say this is far most the most transparent mlm company that I’ve seen with good moral values taught in the organisation : Heart of Appreciation and Humble.

Oz: What does having a factory in China have to do with being a pyramid scheme?

Exactly, Pyramid scheme doesn’t sell any product, so why a factory is even needed to produce or repackage for pyramid scheme company!

My previous post’s main point is that we are being welcome to visit their production process including the factory and lab which is all being done in China, to let everyone know that Alphay is a real existing company managing from planting raw materials i.e. Herbs and mushrooms, R&D till packaging.

Oz: No it doesn’t, but it doesn’t backdate the MLM side of things either. Chen’s business ventures might date back to 1959, but the company today likely looks nothing like it did back then.

For all intents and purposes, they’re different companies.

please go through the history of this company, Alphay started since 1959 as a main supplier to the 75% of the world, it only started to be involved in mlm 13 years ago, and get into US market as mlm 2 years ago.

Chen Hui, the chairman is already a billionaire before starting this mlm, the chairman’s intention to turn it to mlm is by investing his money to do R&D to extract the polysaccharides and other nutrients from Ling Zhi, and through network marketing, let more and more people know about the precious Ling Zhi.

I’ve been with Alphay since the start here in N. America. I’d be happy to answer any questions you or others have.

And thank you, Oz, for updating the original review since 2012.

A few other notes:

– While the MSRP of the formulas is $86, no one I know since 2012 has had to pay that. The regular price is $69 for the 120 caps. The tea is $39, and the organic coffee is $18.

– The comp plan reviewed here was the initial placeholder plan they used for the first 18 months. The existing comp plan has been in place since 2014, and can be viewed in the PDF tab on the training site, LingzhiAcademy. You’ll also find a compilation of studies on lingzhi there as well.

– Oz has updated the comp plan too, see the above link.

Thank you for all you’re doing to clarify the network marketing landscape, Oz. It’s appreciated.

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